枕席 (zhěn xí) — pillow mat (often made of bamboo or other cool…

Definition

noun

pillow mat (often made of bamboo or other cool material, used in summer)bedding (general term for sleeping mats and pillows)

，枕席。
Xià tiān de shí hou, wǒ xǐ huan yòng zhú zhěn xí.
In summer, I like to use a bamboo pillow mat.
枕席，。
Zhè ge zhěn xí hěn liáng kuai, shì hé rè tiān.
This pillow mat is very cool, suitable for hot days.
，枕席。
Lǚ xíng shí, wǒ dài le zhěn xí hé bèi zi.
When traveling, I brought a pillow mat and a blanket.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

枕 and 席 are both bedding items; together they name pillow-and-mat bedding.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

木冘枕

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

冘

冘yóu枕zhěn

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

枕 is written with 木 (wood) beside 冘; 木 is the meaning part and 冘 the sound part.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

席 originally showed a woven mat with an ornament. In 席, the mat became 巾, and a later sound part was written as 庶.